Newt Braces For Backlash After Debate

HUFFINGTONPOST.COM - Newt Gingrich took a stance on immigration unpopular
with many in the Republican party in a primary debate Tuesday night, and
will now have to wait to see if he is punished for it by conservatives.

Gingrich, who has come from the back of the pack in the Republican
presidential primary to lead in many national polls, refused to play
along with the idea -- expressed implicitly by some other candidates --
that the only solution to the problem of undocumented immigration is to
deport the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the
U.S.

"I don't see how the -- the party that says it's the party of the
family is going to adopt an immigration policy which destroys families
that have been here a quarter century," Gingrich said. "And I'm prepared
to take the heat for saying, let's be humane in enforcing the law
without giving them citizenship but by finding a way to create legality
so that they are not separated from their families."

With his answer, the former speaker of the House from Georgia risked suffering the same fate as Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who told those
who disagree with his support for in-state tuition for children of
undocumented immigrants that they "don't have a heart," and suffered for
it badly with the conservative base.

Gingrich knew what he was doing. He took a long pause before doubling
down on his position, after he was criticized by both Rep. Michele
Bachmann (R-Minn.) and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

"I do not believe that the people of the United States are going to
take people who have been here a quarter century, who have children and
grandchildren, who are members of the community, who may have done
something 25 years ago, separate them from their families, and expel
them," he said.

Gingrich began a discussion on immigration by talking about the need
for something like a "World War II selective service board" to review
the cases of all those in the country without citizenship. After he
finished his first answer on immigration, Bachmann, a Tea Party
firebrand whose candidacy has faded and needs a spark, pressed Gingrich
by saying that he favored "amnesty."

"I don't agree that you would make 11 million workers legal because
that in effect is amnesty. And I also don't agree that you would give
the Dream Act on a federal level. And those are two things that I
believe that the speaker had been for, and he can speak for himself,"
Bachmann said.

Gingrich has praised parts of the Dream Act, which would provide a path to citizenship for some young people who came to the United States without documentation.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer, who moderated the debate at DAR Constitution
Hall, turned to Romney and pressed him for an answer on the subject.
Romney gave a circuitous response that in essence amounted to a
rejection and condemnation of Gingrich's position.

"Look, amnesty is a magnet," Romney said. "What when we have had in
the past, programs that have said that if people who come here illegally
are going to get to stay illegally for the rest of their life, that's
going to only encourage more people to come here illegally."

When asked a second time by Blitzer whether Gingrich's idea would
"entice others to come to this country illegally," Romney said, "There's
no question."

"But to say that we're going to say to the people who have come here
illegally that now you're all going to get to stay or some large number
are going to get to stay and become permanent residents of the United
States, that will only encourage more people to do the same thing," he
said.

Unlike Perry, who has acknowledged many times that he is not a good
debater, Gingrich is a nuanced and articulate spokesman. He argued
eloquently for an approach to immigration reform that nonetheless is
labeled as "amnesty" by many conservatives simply because it does not
favor deporting all those in the country undocumented.

"If you've come here recently, you have no ties to this country, you
ought to go home period," Gingrich said. "If you've been here 25 years
and you got three kids, two grandkids, paying taxes and obeying the law,
you belong to a local church -- I don't think we're going to separate
you from your family, uproot you forcefully and kick you out."

"The Krieble Foundation has a very good red card program
that says you get to be legal but you don't get a path to citizenship.
So there's a way to ultimately end up with a country where there's no
more illegality, but you haven't automatically given amnesty to anyone,"
Gingrich said.

Perry was more open to providing some sort of path to citizenship or
residency for some undocumented immigrants, although he said it couldn't
be done until the border with Mexico is secured.Click here to read more

A man, claiming to be "the spawn of Lucifer," said he stabbed an eight-year-old boy because he "felt like he had to kill a child" and that it was "almost like a sacrifice." 30-year-old Bruce Derek Landahl was arrested Saturday for allegedly entering the HiCo store on Sprague, walking up to an eight-year-old boy playing on an iPad and stabbing him multiple times before the boy's father was able to stop him.

A man, claiming to be "the spawn of Lucifer," said he stabbed an eight-year-old boy because he "felt like he had to kill a child" and that it was "almost like a sacrifice." 30-year-old Bruce Derek Landahl was arrested Saturday for allegedly entering the HiCo store on Sprague, walking up to an eight-year-old boy playing on an iPad and stabbing him multiple times before the boy's father was able to stop him.

JBS USA has recalled nearly 100,000 pounds of ground beef due to concerns about possible e-coli contamination. The products have the establishment number Est.628 and were produced on October 24th. Products that were recalled were shipped to distributors in retail locations in California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

JBS USA has recalled nearly 100,000 pounds of ground beef due to concerns about possible e-coli contamination. The products have the establishment number Est.628 and were produced on October 24th. Products that were recalled were shipped to distributors in retail locations in California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

TRENTON, N.J. - An attorney for a woman charged with scamming GoFundMe donors with a story about a homeless veteran says she was duped by her former boyfriend. James Gerrow tells ABC's "Good Morning America" that Mark D'Amico was "calling the shots." Gerrow says Katelyn McClure thought she was helping Marine vet Johnny Bobbitt.

TRENTON, N.J. - An attorney for a woman charged with scamming GoFundMe donors with a story about a homeless veteran says she was duped by her former boyfriend. James Gerrow tells ABC's "Good Morning America" that Mark D'Amico was "calling the shots." Gerrow says Katelyn McClure thought she was helping Marine vet Johnny Bobbitt.

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. - A 30-year-old male is facing attempted murder charges after stabbing an eight-year-old boy at a HiCo store in Spokane Valley Saturday night. Around 4:30 p.m, Spokane Valley Deputies responded to a call of two males fighting along with the reported stabbing.

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. - A 30-year-old male is facing attempted murder charges after stabbing an eight-year-old boy at a HiCo store in Spokane Valley Saturday night. Around 4:30 p.m, Spokane Valley Deputies responded to a call of two males fighting along with the reported stabbing.

Several locals are trying to help the family of an eight-year-old boy, who was randomly stabbed at a gas station Saturday. Rayel Von Quade said she and three others (Salem Rose Sovereign, Quincey Brooks and Dani Loup) have been in touch with the Bush family. (KHQ has reached out to the family and have not heard back.) "They're, of course, very overwhelmed and stressed out right now and she's been dealing with a lot of messages from a lot of people coming through. But she says t...

Several locals are trying to help the family of an eight-year-old boy, who was randomly stabbed at a gas station Saturday. Rayel Von Quade said she and three others (Salem Rose Sovereign, Quincey Brooks and Dani Loup) have been in touch with the Bush family. (KHQ has reached out to the family and have not heard back.) "They're, of course, very overwhelmed and stressed out right now and she's been dealing with a lot of messages from a lot of people coming through. But she says t...